underhill] BIRD STUDY FOR THF FIFTH GRAFF 143 



justifies this. The parents should be educated through the day 

 schools to enjoy a vegetable diet and thus realize the necessity for 

 conducting a home garden. At several boarding schools the surplus 

 production of vegetables raised by the pupils was sold and a bank 

 account started for each pupil. 



•'Explain fully the advantage of raising vegetables of the best quality 

 in order that they may command the highest market price. This 

 may be accomplished by using only the best seed and supplying the 

 soil with necessary plant food, giving careful attention to the cultiva- 

 tion of the garden and arranging the products in an attractive manner 

 for the market. Strive to show the importance of learning what crops 

 will best repay the labor and how to dispose of them to the best 

 advantage. Lay special stress on instruction in figuring the expend- 

 iture in labor and money, also the returns in amount and value of the 

 crops, that pupils may know how to estimate the result of their labor. 



"In addition to window boxes, many of the schools have hotbeds in 

 which plants are started for transplanting 



"It is hoped that teachers will recognize the necessity of correlating 

 agricultural instruction in the class room with teaching the children 

 to speak English. These suggestions have been prepared to assist 

 them in. accomplishing this and in making their methods more effect- 

 ive and more directly aimed at laying the foundation for the thorough 

 training in practical agricultural work which will fit their pupils for 

 becoming successful farmers and capable, upon taking up their allot- 

 ments, of making a living for themselves and their families." 



BIRD STUDY FOR THE FIFTH GRADE 



BY LAURA B. UNDERHILL 

 Teacher of Grade V, Horace Mann School, New York 



The nature-study of the primary grades of the Horace Mann School 

 directs attention to and aims to arouse interest in a few very common 

 birds. The outline for the fifth grade attempts a somewhat extensive 

 and at the same time intensive study ot birds, especially placing 

 emphasis upon their relations to man and his economic interests. 



The time allowed for bird study is about one hour per week (three 

 20-min., or two 30-min. periods) for the equivalent of a half year. 

 The other half of the year is given to the topic "Trees in their 

 Relations to Man." We study birds first in the autumn so as to get 

 some acquaintance before the migration, then the winter residents, 

 and finally return to bird study in the spring. A similar arrange- 

 ment for the three seasons is made for the parallel tree study. 



